Bob Tippee
Through an interesting coincidence, tort reform has roared back onto the US political stage.
In a single week, the Senate gave brief consideration to the Class Action Fairness Act, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) chose Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) as his running mate in the presidential campaign.
Before his election to the Senate in 1998, Edwards had a successful career as a personal-injury lawyer, specializing in medical malpractice (see Editorial, OGJ, July 12, 2004).
Plans for full Senate consideration of the class-action legislation, which the House passed in June 2003, preceded Kerry's announcement about Edwards.
The selection and the Senate's failure to pass legislation addressing class-action abuse elevate much-needed tort reform on the national agenda.
The stymied bill authorizes federal courts to hear many class actions now tried by state courts.
It aims to discourage venue shopping, in which lawyers file class actions in state courts favoring plaintiffs and big judgments.
The Senate version also would impose mechanisms aimed at ensuring that plaintiffs, and not just their lawyers, benefit from settlements and judgments.
In some past cases, plaintiffs winning lawsuits received only coupons from defendant companies and bills for attorney fees, while their lawyers collected millions of dollars.
The act would apply to interstate class actions involving more than 100 plaintiffs and $5 million. It includes assurances that truly local cases remain in relevant state courts.
Trial lawyers naturally dislike the legislation, which has been in Congress since 1998. Their powerful trade associations and their congressional supporters, including Edwards, oppose it.
When the bill reached the Senate floor on July 7, it had support of enough senators to escape filibuster. But it encountered a flurry of irrelevant amendments—on subjects ranging from the minimum wage to global warming—that eventually dissipated support.
Another attempt is possible but doubtful. This is a triumph for trial lawyers and a defeat for justice.
Mammoth judgments in tort cases, many involving class actions, have created a lawsuit industry that distorts business, makes plaintiffs' attorneys rich, and mocks American jurisprudence.
The Senate has squandered a chance to make an overdue repair.
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